Look, you’re either incredibly interested to read about Netflix’s NFL scorebug that debuted Wednesday during their Christmas Day games or you’re incredibly uninterested.
There is no in-between.
Netflix made its NFL broadcasting debut on Christmas, pulling out all the stops for their presentation of the Chiefs-Steelers and Ravens-Texans games.
The streaming giant not only brought in a who’s who of broadcasters and studio analysts but lined up Mariah Carey and Beyoncé for musical performances as well. The company also clearly put in the effort to ensure its picture quality was top-notch and avoided many of the glitches that it encountered in other live-streaming events.
Along with all of the talent on hand, they also introduced their very flashy graphics package. And for sickos like us, that means we get a brand-new scorebug to overanalyze.
Let’s start with the praise, of which there was plenty. Some found the scorebug to be clean and stylish, in line with Netflix branding, providing clear information, and offering enough space to make everything legible. The Netflix branding was present but not intrusive and the clock had visual cues to help showcase urgency, which some viewers appreciated.
Others felt that scorebug was too busy, too big, wonky, pulling focus to the wrong information, and “different for different’s sake.”
One critique that is hard not to see once you’ve noticed it is how PIT was off-center above the score compared to KC. It’s unclear why that was the case as it didn’t seem to be related to it being three letters vs. two. The issue was not there in the Ravens-Texans scorebug.
Here at Awful Announcing, our official position is that while it doesn’t need to be so big, the oversized nature of the scorebug isn’t necessarily a negative. The information is presented clearly and the visual cues are a nice touch. It takes any guesswork out of understanding possession and timeouts. If they can prevent that PIT-centering issue in the future, it’s a welcome addition to the NFL scorebug world. At the very least, it’s way more interesting than most.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.